Choose Telling Lies
Choose Telling Lies if you want an Indie experience. On Steam, it's currently about 50% cheaper on the Steam Store. Telling Lies launched in 2019.
Telling Lies vs Criminal Expert
Telling Lies and Criminal Expert both land in Adventure, Simulation on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Adventure, Simulation on Steam. Telling Lies (2019) is 4 years older than Criminal Expert (2023). Telling Lies is currently ~50% cheaper on Steam than Criminal Expert (4.99 USD vs. 9.99 USD). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Criminal Expert
Choose Criminal Expert if you want a Casual experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2023) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Criminal Expert launched in 2023.
Both Telling Lies and Criminal Expert sit in Adventure and Simulation on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 Telling Lies |  Criminal Expert | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2019 | 2023 |
| Genres | Indie, Adventure, Simulation | Adventure, Simulation, Casual |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Unsupported | Deck Playable |
| Price | 4.99 USD | 9.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 61.2% positive (681 reviews) | 9 reviews |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Sam Barlow, Half Mermaid, Furious Bee Limited | Forever Entertainment S. A. |
Side by side
- Both share Adventure, Simulation on Steam.
- Telling Lies (2019) is 4 years older than Criminal Expert (2023).
- Telling Lies is currently ~50% cheaper on Steam than Criminal Expert (4.99 USD vs. 9.99 USD).
- Steam Deck: Telling Lies is Deck Unsupported, Criminal Expert is Deck Playable.
Telling Lies vs Criminal Expert — FAQ
- Should I play Telling Lies or Criminal Expert first?
- If you want chronology, Telling Lies (2019) came out before Criminal Expert (2023). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Telling Lies and Criminal Expert similar?
- They overlap on Adventure, Simulation on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.